Perhaps man wasn't meant for paradise. Maybe he was meant to claw, to scratch all the way.

The intellect is not all... but its cultivation must come first, or the individual makes errors...
wastes time in unprofitable pursuits. Human beings do not survive on bread alone ... but on
the nourishments of liberty. For what indeed is a man without freedom ... naught but a
mechanism, trapped in the cogwheels of eternity.

What makes one man an exceptional leader? We see indications that it's his negative side
which makes him strong, that his evil side, controlled and disciplined, is vital to his strength.
Your negative side removed from you, the power of command begins to elude you. Madness
has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal. When a child is taught, it's programmed
with simple instructions, and at some point, if its mind develops properly, it exceeds the sum
of what it was taught, thinks independently. In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly
what they wish to see. Improve a mechanical device and you may double productivity. But
improve man, you gain a thousandfold. He tasks me. He tasks me; and I shall have him. I’ll
chase him ’round the moons of Nibia and ’round the Antares maelstrom and ’round Perdition’s
flames before I give him up.

I haven't faced death. I've cheated death. I've tricked my way out of death and patted myself
on the back for my ingenuity; I know nothing. When dreams become more important than
reality, you give up travel, building, creating; you even forget how to repair the machines left
behind by your ancestors. You just sit living and reliving other lives left behind in the thought
records. It's hard to believe that something which is neither seen nor felt can do so much
harm. A species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior -- mentally or otherwise.

A man either lives life as it happens to him, meets it head-on and licks it, or he turns his back
on it and starts to wither away. So much for the little training cruise. Do you know the old
Klingon proverb that revenge is a dish best served cold? It is very cold — in space. No, Kirk, no.
You’ll not escape. From hell’s heart, I stab at thee. …For spite’s sake, I spit my last breath at
thee.

Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal. I speak of rights! A machine has
none; a man must. If you do not grant him that right, you have brought us down to the level of
the machine; indeed, you have elevated that machine above us!

... the prejudices people feel about each other disappear when they get to know each other.
One man cannot summon the future. But one man can change the present! Khaaannnn! For
everything, there is a first time.

Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on. If we're going to be damned, let's be
damned for what we really are. Curious, how often you humans manage to obtain that which
you do not want. Nuclear Wessels! So much for the little training cruise.
Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal. Insults are effective only where
emotion is present. Without followers, evil cannot spread. We prefer to help ourselves. We
make mistakes, but we're human -- and maybe that's the word that best explains us. For
everything, there is a first time.

When a child is taught, it's programmed with simple instructions, and at some point, if its mind
develops properly, it exceeds the sum of what it was taught, thinks independently. Without
followers, evil cannot spread. Our species can only survive if we have obstacles to overcome.
You remove those obstacles. Without them to strengthen us, we will weaken and die. A
species that enslaves other beings is hardly superior -- mentally or otherwise. I object to
intellect without discipline; I object to power without constructive purpose. Beam Me Up,
Scotty!

We prefer to help ourselves. We make mistakes, but we're human -- and maybe that's the
word that best explains us. When the personality of a human is involved, exact predictions are
hazardous. Now, I don't pretend to tell you how to find happiness and love, when every day is
a struggle to survive. But I do insist that you do survive, because the days and the years ahead
are worth living for!

Improve a mechanical device and you may double productivity. But improve man, you gain a
thousandfold. Beam Me Up, Scotty! Khaaannnn! Resistance Is Futile!

You may find that having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. This is not logical, but it is often
true. Insults are effective only where emotion is present. It's time you learned that freedom is
never a gift. It has to be earned. It's hard to believe that something which is neither seen nor
felt can do so much harm. Instruments register only through things they're designed to
register. Space still contains infinite unknowns. To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone
Before...

Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on. With the first link, the chain is forged. The
first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all
irrevocably. When dreams become more important than reality, you give up travel, building,
creating; you even forget how to repair the machines left behind by your ancestors. You just sit
living and reliving other lives left behind in the thought records. A lie is a very poor way to say
hello. Instruments register only through things they're designed to register. Space still contains
infinite unknowns. Live Long and Prosper.

Human beings do not survive on bread alone ... but on the nourishments of liberty. For what
indeed is a man without freedom ... naught but a mechanism, trapped in the cogwheels of
eternity. No, Kirk, no. You’ll not escape. From hell’s heart, I stab at thee. …For spite’s sake, I
spit my last breath at thee. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ …Message,
Spock?” “…None that I am conscious of — save, perhaps, for ‘Happy Birthday.‘

Leave bigotry in your quarters; there's no room for it on the bridge. Our species can only
survive if we have obstacles to overcome. You remove those obstacles. Without them to
strengthen us, we will weaken and die.

... the prejudices people feel about each other disappear when they get to know each other. I
speak of rights! A machine has none; a man must. If you do not grant him that right, you have
brought us down to the level of the machine; indeed, you have elevated that machine above
us! Your will to survive, your love of life, your passion to know ... Everything that is truest and
best in all species of beings has been revealed to you. Those are the qualities that make a
civilization worthy to survive. Make It So! Nuclear Wessels! You’ve never really faced death,
have you?” “...No; not like this. I haven’t faced death. I’ve cheated death. I’ve tricked my way
out of death and patted myself on the back for my ingenuity; I know nothing.

Compassion: that's the one things no machine ever had. Maybe it's the one thing that keeps
men ahead of them. It's time you learned that freedom is never a gift. It has to be earned.
When the personality of a human is involved, exact predictions are hazardous. …Warp speed.

Insults are effective only where emotion is present. In critical moments, men sometimes see
exactly what they wish to see. One man cannot summon the future. But one man can change
the present! Improve a mechanical device and you may double productivity. But improve
man, you gain a thousandfold. Look at these three words written larger than all the rest, and
with special pride never written before or since -- tall words, proudly saying "We the
people" ... these words and the words that follow ... must apply to everyone or they mean
nothing. Make It So! I’ve done far worse than kill you. …I’ve hurt you; and I intend to go on…
hurting you. I will leave you as you left me; as you left her. Marooned for all eternity at the
center of a dead planet. …Buried alive; buried alive…. It was the best of times, it was the worst
of times.’ …Message, Spock?” “…None that I am conscious of — save, perhaps, for ‘Happy
Birthday.‘

I haven't faced death. I've cheated death. I've tricked my way out of death and patted myself
on the back for my ingenuity; I know nothing. Leave bigotry in your quarters; there's no room
for it on the bridge. Live Long and Prosper. Make It So!

Perhaps man wasn't meant for paradise. Maybe he was meant to claw, to scratch all the way.
Compassion: that's the one things no machine ever had. Maybe it's the one thing that keeps
men ahead of them. Resistance Is Futile! He tasks me. He tasks me; and I shall have him. I’ll
chase him ’round the moons of Nibia and ’round the Antares maelstrom and ’round Perdition’s
flames before I give him up.